Can a Cricket's Chirp Tell You the Temperature?

It is possible to estimate the temperature by counting how often a cricket chirps. This equation was originally developed in 1897 by Amos Dolbear and is now known as Dolbear's equation.

A practical version of the equation involves counting the number of chirps in 15 seconds and adding 37 to the total to get the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. There are different versions depending on the exact species of cricket.

Dolbear did not specify which species he studied, but it is now believed to have been the snowy tree cricket. However, the practical formula will still work for field crickets with only a small margin of error.

More about crickets:

Only male crickets chirp. They do it in order to attract a mate and each species has a distinct call. They make the sound by rubbing their wings.

Crickets have a long history as pets in China, where they were kept for their singing and as symbols of good luck.

Cricket fighting has been a sport in China for more than 1,000 years, and is still popular today.